Functional Health and Performance

This textbook and accompanying Training Programs by Graham Pennington was a game-changer for my clinical bodywork practice.

It simultaneously 'simplified' my approach to achieve more 'complex' changes and understanding!

This ability to assess, identify, target and resolve primary structural drivers was something that was pivotal in being able to integrate the modality of bodywork into the bigger picture.

Into the overall process alongside other modalities.

If you can't do that - then you're just using different therapies/modalities in isolation. Which is not our goal at the Functional Health Clinic.

If you're interested in seeing how this approach could help in your goals to solve chronic health challenges then drop us a comment.

If you are geographically elsewhere in the World, then let us know and we'll see if we can refer you to a Practitioner in your area 🙂

Jack

*Graham Pennington. A Textbook of Bowen Technique

The wonders of integrating the structural alignment of the body!

From the foundation up, we want to begin enhancing the structural integrity of the body.

A key point on 'The Foundation'.
A misconception.
It's truly not to be considered as 'general' or 'non-specific'.

Let's take a look at how we apply Bodywork/Bowen Therapy in the Foundation Stage of the Program.

There are already so many options for which type of bodywork or manual therapy that you could use. Whilst which one you choose is important - it's arguably more important to consider the bigger picture in the 'How' you are going to use it.

This encourages us to ask some good questions before choosing.

After all - getting some bodywork done is a significant investment of your time, energy, effort and finances (resources).

So I have found it useful to ask 'how does it fit in to your overall process?'

Are you just going to 'try it and see if it works'? Move on to the next option if it doesn't? Hope you get some results? Etc....

Or is there more of a strategy?

On the HRP (Health Restoration Program) we have a high value on strategy and process.

**Note - We're all for all the other approaches/methods/models out there. This is just the way we work best and synergistically bring our model together.**

That's why the Bodywork has a pivotal role in the first stage of the HRP. The Foundation.

We want the structural work we do here to be something that we can build on and not need to eventually come back to when 'skipping it' doesn't work!

But first - here's a key point on 'The Foundation'.

A misconception.

It's truly not to be considered as 'general' or 'non-specific'.

Many programs have a 'foundation' step in them where it feels far too slow, cumbersome, time-consuming and one-size-fits-all.

Any Foundational work you do must still be highly individualised and prioritised.

That skillset and value must be applied from the earliest point possible and is why what we do stands out!

Therefore - in the 'Foundation Stage' the bodywork is simply looking to prioritise the areas that need more Structural Integrity.

We avoid chasing the pain at this point.

But that doesn't mean that the pain won't change.

For example - we could be experiencing headaches, neck pain, knee pain, shoulder pain, constipation, fatigue, etc and there could be a highly influential underlying structural driver to this 'dysfunction'.

Now we could choose to throw many ailment-specific strategies at it that may or may not be effective.

Yet regardless of the outcome - what we certainly won't have done is anything related to identifying and addressing the influential underlying structural driver.

In this scenario of chasing the ailment, even if we have 'managed' it, there's no real robustness to the progress as the potential cause still remains unchanged.

This is not 'wrong' of course.

But, on the HRP we prefer not to play snakes and ladders with peoples wellbeing, goals and investment.

We prefer to start as we mean to go on.

The principles that drive the approach from step 1, also drive and underpin the whole process.

What's interesting is that our clients experience a wide range and myriad of health challenges. It could be related to sleep, immune, energy, skin, libido, gut, movement, mood and so on.

And there is always some degree of structural influence.

That's why from the foundation up, we want to begin enhancing the structural integrity of the body.

Jack

Free Foundation Program: https://functionalhealthclinic.co.uk/join-the-health-restoration-program/

5 Spaces Available

If you are interested in how Bodywork could help you solve your health challenges then stay tuned to this Functional Health and Performance page.

We'll soon be opening up 5 spaces for an upcoming workshop.

Comment 'bodywork' below and we'll keep you informed.

-------

The workshop will be in the Functional Health Clinic in Newcastle.

Jack

Moving on to Bodywork...

This is the next modality we'll focus on.

We'll share our approach to bodywork at the Functional Health Clinic, how we apply it to working 1-to-1 with our clients, case studies and the fascinating way we have integrated it into the whole approach.

So whilst we can see more about the role of hands-on bodywork in its own right, the more important aspect is to how does it fit into the bigger picture!

A long time ago we moved away from using bodywork as a this-for-that modality.

That approach often restricts the possibilities of what can be achieved.

Consider any health challenge and wonder what the impact of enhancing the Structural Integrity of the body would have.

So far we haven't come across a scenario where the structural/physical/mechanical levels of function weren't having some degree of impact.

So.... stick with us over the next few posts/weeks as we delve further into the principles and real client work and results, with a 'Bodywork' emphasis! 😀

Comment 'functional medicine' to receive a 10% discount code on a Functional Lab Test plus Initial Consultation order.

If you've been following our focus on Functional Medicine for the last week or so, you may be interested in taking a look at some of the key Functional Lab Tests we run.

You can comment 'functional medicine' too if you would like an offer to run some testing (see below).

Whilst we avoid having standard lab tests, as this would not be truly individualised, there is some fundamental and foundational information that we can glean from certain testing.

This means that they often underpin all the work we do when working with clients on their health challenges.

Have a look at the:

Functional Blood Chemistry Analysis: https://functionalhealthclinic.co.uk/functional-blood-chemistry-analysis/

GI Map Gut Health Test: https://functionalhealthclinic.co.uk/digestive-health-test/

Organic Acids Test: https://functionalhealthclinic.co.uk/organic-acids-lab-test/

These can offer us some phenomenal insight into how the body is functioning. With the assessing we tend to be able to reduce the guessing!

Please comment 'functional medicine' if you would like to receive a 10% discount code on a Functional Lab Test plus Initial Consultation order.

Jack

Iron Status

We're following on from a recent post about a client's blood test results and the topic of Iron Status.

Recap - The Functional Analysis of their blood test identified an interesting pattern. Their Haemoglobin and Haematocrit levels were low and their MCV marker was high.

https://functionalhealthclinic.co.uk/case-study-nicki-going-from-extremes-to-mastery/

This would suggest a possible pattern of Iron Deficiency.

So building on this, what did we do?

Iron is an essential trace element, needed for numerous biological functions. Including:

🩸Red blood cell formation
🩸Mitochondrial ATP synthesis
🩸Antioxidant activity
🩸Decreased iron status can negatively impact oxygen transport to the tissues, hence the likely fatigue. There may also be metabolic inefficiency and lead to symptoms of iron-deficient anaemia.

Individualised and Prioritised Causes to consider for Nicki’s case were:

Diet: Inadequate iron-containing foods
Low gastric acid
Drugs that deplete iron
Uterine fibroids
Genetic predispositions
Toxicity

We expand on some of these here: https://functionalhealthclinic.co.uk/case-study-nicki-going-from-extremes-to-mastery/

Do you have any question marks over your 'iron status' test results?

Jack

CASE STUDY // Nicki Going from Extremes to Mastery – Functional Health Clinic CASE STUDY // Nicki Going from Extremes to Mastery – Functional Health Clinic work with clients across the World to optimise Health and Vitality

Whether you live close to the Functional Health Clinic (Newcastle upon Tyne), or you live elsewhere in the World - we've integrated the online/distance/video/tele coaching into our programs.

Some modalities such as Functional Medicine and Nutrition can be delivered seamlessly in this format. It's essentially a discussion, with the added benefit of all resources and test reports being accessible via a computer/device.

Whilst a modality like 'Movement' is not quite a perfect match for online, it can still effectively be coached.

As for the hands-on Bodywork, that's the one modality that we really need to see you physically in the clinic space for.

So what ever level of Support Program you are on we have the most effective and applicable modalities in place and then teach you everything we know!

If you have any questions about our Health Restoration Program and how it could help you please let us know.

Jack

+44(0)7792761324
[email protected]

We've pulled together some resources we find really valuable as part of our Functional Medicine clinical work:

TDL The Doctors Laboratory: A fantastic Central London Facility for extensive Blood Testing.
https://www.tdlpathology.com

Medichecks: Further Blood Testing facilities throughout the UK.
https://bit.ly/Medichx
Medichecks

Regenerus: Helping us supply our clients with Functional Lab Testing.
https://regeneruslabs.com
Regenerus Labs

Nordic Laboratories: Also supplying our clients with Functional Lab Testing.
https://nordiclabs.com/Catalogue.aspx?id=160
Laboratories

Amrita Nutrition: Practitioner-run, quality vetted, supplement suppliers.
https://www.amritanutrition.co.uk
Amrita Nutrition

FMU Functional Medicine University: A great Functional Medicine course for practitioners.
https://www.functionalmedicineuniversity.com/public/720.cfm
Functional Medicine University

If you would like any more information, guidance or help using these resources, just ask.
Jack

Our client Heidi contacted us describing a myriad of symptoms including chronic stomach issues.

Read her full Testimonial here:

"After a long history of stomach issues and taking omeprazole without relief, I decided to have a stool test. With Jack Walton as my advisor for several months my tests revealed several findings including poor digestion of carbohydrates and fats. The work we did on gluten sensitivity has made a great difference too.

Through nutrition and some supplementation and we alleviated the stomach issues. I have even lost some weight and found my energy level increase which is very important at 74 years of age to maintain an active lifestyle through sports, volunteering, gardening and more. I continue to follow and maintain the diet which reflected in my most recent blood work as having the best numbers yet. My thanks to Jack Walton for the great coaching job"

Respectfully,
Heidi (South Carolina, USA)

We have a whole host of Functional Health Client Testimonials here: https://functionalhealthclinic.co.uk/testimonials/

Consider running an Initial Consultation with us: https://functionalhealthclinic.co.uk/book-your-initial-consultation/

Testimonials – Functional Health Clinic Testimonials of Functional Medicine, Nutrition, Bowen Technique Therapy and Movement at Jack Walton's Functional Health Clinic (Newcastle UK)

Catch up with the latest blog articles on the website:

https://functionalhealthclinic.co.uk/

Please hit the 'Share' for anyone interested in 🙏

The Health Restoration Program introduced Ravinder to many strategies and techniques that helped her solve her health challenges. The role of Functional Medicine was quite powerful in this case.

Read more Testimonials here: https://functionalhealthclinic.co.uk/testimonials/

Here's some valuable information to balance the approach and perspective for Vitamin D Status and Supplementation.

So what we were working with was a likely Pattern of Iron Deficiency! 🩸📉

Join our Free Foundation Course, to see how Functional Medicine fits into the Program:

https://functionalhealthclinic.co.uk/join-the-health-restoration-program/

Join The Health Restoration Program – Functional Health Clinic Join The Health Restoration Program – Functional Health Clinic work with clients across the World to optimise Health and Vitality. Visit Now

Low Haemoglobin and Haematocrit Levels
[Case Study excerpt]

Here's a little insight into a client case we worked on, where there were some significant challenges of fatigue, metabolism, gut, mood and hormones.

We had a recent blood test that her Doctor had run for her. There was some good insight but the problem we were faced was that there was no comprehensive Iron Panel.

Yet - how could we use the somewhat limited blood test markers that we did have to squeeze the feedback and understanding about the function of her systems in her body?

[Note - her Medical Practitioner could use the test for diagnosing etc, but our remit was to use it to understand her functions]

What I find most interesting (and often most complex and challenging) in a blood chemistry are the patterns. Not just the individual markers in isolation.

Take a look at this interesting pattern that Nicki had:
- Low Haemoglobin
- Low Haematocrit
- High MCV

A couple of brief definitions:

“Haemoglobin carries oxygen from the lungs to the cells.”

“Haematocrit is a measurement of the proportion of blood that is made up of cells. It falls to less than normal, indicating anaemia, when your body decreases its production of red blood cells or increases its destruction of red blood cells.”

So whilst we didn't have all the information of the expanded Iron Panel we know that the low Hb and Hct pattern can relate to iron deficiency and something called microlytic anaemia (small red blood cell size).

However, Nicki’s slightly High MCV marker suggested it would not be a microlytic issue.

So what we were working with was a likely Pattern of Iron Deficiency.

And when you know more about the individual factors in play for Nicki, this made a lot of sense.

Read on here: https://functionalhealthclinic.co.uk/case-study-nicki-going-from-extremes-to-mastery/

Jack

If you are interested in more live calls and webinars on the 'Functional Medicine' content we are covering at the moment - please join The Health Restoration Program FB Group 😀

Book your Discovery Session to discuss any questions you have about

https://functionalhealthclinic.co.uk/free-discovery-call/

What have we been getting up to at the Functional Health Clinic over the last week?

Here are some snippets:

When a client has several years of running their Doctor's Ferritin-only test for their fatigue complaint - new know we have to look a bit deeper. They'd been categorised as borderline Anaemic for the whole time. But ferritin is a poor marker of iron status and there's just too much information missing.

So when we ran a comprehensive blood test that included a full Iron Panel, we started to get the information we needed to understand the challenges.

Would you believe that their Iron levels were actually elevated?! Excess rather than deficiency? With the insight we need, they can now get to work bringing these levels back towards optimal 😀

Another complex client case this week involved a blood count illustrating a pattern of an allergy type response causing stress/load to the immune system and body. The next steps in this situation are for us to discover and reveal whether this is food, environmental, material, chemical, toxin, mold etc.

We've been dealing with H pylori and reflux presentations for many years now and whilst the link is not always present, it can be a game changer when identified and addressed.

From a physical and structural perspective scoliosis can often be a driver of movement pain. We're removing the initial layers of asymmetry via the hands-on bodywork that helps the assessing and addressing.

Jack

Let's understand more about how we apply 'Functional Medicine' to the REVEAL Phase.

'Reveal' is part of the R-Phases that we coach.

The R-Phases are cyclic. We run through them several times to add layers as we progress through the program towards the health goals.

FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE is one of the modalities we use to shed light on the Physiological side of function.

'Revealing' fundamentally and simply means to Assess.

And if we're doing more assessing it generally means we are doing less guessing.

Here at the Functional Health Clinic we have a high value on limiting the amount of guessing being done.

Imagine skipping this stage and going right into applying specific strategies - diet, supplements, bodywork, exercises, cold therapy, breath work, medications, surgery etc, etc.

From all the enquiries we receive here - it seems that doing that will often cause more frustration, confusion and chaos. (Yet, not always of course).

Our advice is that before you decide exactly which strategy and change you are going to invest your time, energy and resources on - pause and firstly consider what insight you have and/or need.

The Functional Medicine Lab Test Assessments will reveal a great deal about anything from - gut function, pathogens, inflammation, immune balance, detoxification, nutrient status, hormonal patterns and more.

Equipped with that individualised insight you'll find it much easier to prioritise and choose your strategy.

Jack

Want to know more about the REVEAL Phase and the other R-Phases?:

Join our Health Restoration Program (Free Introduction Course) here: https://functionalhealthclinic.co.uk/join-the-health-restoration-program/

We receive numerous enquiries about Acid Reflux.

Note - we don’t diagnose or name conditions. These terms are used in the questions/queries we receive.

We focus on mechanisms and function. Which all becomes clear when we understand the Functional Health approach.

Functional Medicine helps us do this.

Back to Acid Reflux…..

Given the general approach to it, it would appear that there is ‘too’ much stomach acid and that is the ‘problem’.

That almost seems obvious.

Yet, if we scratch the surface of what is really going on, it seems that this is rarely the case.

If this is true then, are the classic interventions really going to work?

At the Functional Health Clinic we’d rather focus on assessing the function at play, understanding why this is the case and then consider changes that would enhance the function.

If ‘reflux’ is all about the location of the acid, rather than the amount, then we can start to get somewhere with regards to individually addressing why it is in that location.

There are a few factors to consider but with a thorough case review and few questions it can become clearer at least about where to look next.

Which stones to turn over next.

If you would like to discuss this further check this out: https://functionalhealthclinic.co.uk/free-discovery-call/

‘So near yet so far’….

The Organic Acids Test is one of the most insightful Functional Medicine Lab Tests we can run.

There are so many markers that give us great feedback about many functions in the body.

It will often highlight a functional deficiency in a specific nutrient, which helps us understand various biochemical pathways in the body.

This image highlights just how important Carnitine is in the metabolism of fatty acids.

It’s a great example of how there can be many factors in place, yet if we are deficient in Carnitine, then the whole pathway just doesn’t work effectively.

So near, yet so far!

In this case it could significantly impact the function of the cellular engines - The Mitochondria.

OAT Test info: https://functionalhealthclinic.co.uk/organic-acids-lab-test/

If you’ve ever run a Functional Medicine Lab Test you’ll know how in depth the markers and results can be.

But they can also cost anywhere between £100 - £600 per lab test. Which is of course a significant consideration.

This is one reason why we have other assessment tools that deliver great physiological insight at a much lower cost.

For example - The value and insight from measuring your resting pulse, underarm temperature, blood sugar and urine ph is phenomenal.

Using Urinalysis sticks can be useful too.

Whilst they may not be as comprehensive as the lab test panels, they are great tools in the tool kit 😀

Jack

We like to understand our own therapies and modalities inside-out.

We're teaching a lot about 'Functional Medicine' at the moment and it's a perfect topic to acknowledge all the advantages and all of the disadvantages.

There are very few practitioners (I know a couple) and indeed courses and institutions who teach from a balanced perspective.

It's interesting how difficult this is to find.

It's simply quite staggering and fascinating to observe the level of one-sided content out there!

We love to teach our clients how to apply a process. And if you've tried to do that by applying a black and white approach, then you'll already know how painful and fatiguing that is.

So if you're considering 'Functional Medicine' or any other technique, modality, therapy etc - then ensure to clarify and identify all the brilliant benefits alongside the limitations and downsides 😉

Jack

One thing is for sure - you'll never run out of lab tests to run. So complement the process by choosing wisely as you go.

Vitamin D Pre and Post

We've posted about Vitamin D a few times before. It's an interesting topic with some key considerations for safe and effective changes.

Here we can see an improved level in this Functional Health Clinic client after a few months on the program.

The ability to run these tests simply gives us insight and a way to track. But contrary to popular belief - supplementation isn't the primary strategy to apply when your Vitamin D result comes back Low.

In fact this client had already supplemented with Vitamin D prior to working together, so it clearly wasn't the only step to have in place to make real progress.

We actually kept the supplementation in place but made an important adjustment to the type and quality. I'm sure this was helpful, but there were numerous changes beyond supplementation that enabled this optimisation.

Well done to our client Jyoti 👏

One of the Functional Medicine Lab Tests we run is a GastroIntestinal Health GI Map Test.

There's a section that assesses for the presence and amount of Opportunistic Organisms in the gut. These could be bacteria, yeast, fungi or protozoa.

[The Full GI Map description: https://functionalhealthclinic.co.uk/digestive-health-test/ ]

This 'opportunistic' section is quite interesting in that you can't neatly categorise them into being 'beneficial' or 'pathogenic'.

For example - if you have a C.difficile or Enterohaemorrhagic E.coli infection in the gut, it's pretty clear that this is pathogenic and you want it eradicated by some means.

Or - if you find some Lactobacillus of Bifidobacterium, these are well known 'commensal' or in basic terms - 'beneficial' bugs.

Yet the opportunistic aren't quite that simple.

In fact they certainly divide opinion in the health industry. But there's no surprise here.

Some would state that these are just as challenging as a known pathogen, whereas others would be at the opposite extreme in believing they should simply be completely ignored.

So how do we work with these findings at the Functional Health Clinic? How can we use the GI Map and this section in particular to help our clients understand why they feel the way they feel and what they can do about it?

The fact is that we are most definitely learning more and more about the microbiome every day. (With each passing research funding application it seems!)

The 'Microbiome' is an interesting topic in itself in the health industry. There's currently so much focus on it that there's also a high amount of infatuation, skewed perceptions and exaggerated influence placed on it.

What's interesting is that the research on the opportunistic bacteria continues to provide validity to a broad range of possibilities for these findings.

It's both possible for the Opportunistic Bacteria to be present and non-problematic, transient and an 'innocent bystander'.

As well as a potential driver of inflammatory, immune and autoimmune mechanisms!

Which, as you will see, can be to our advantage!

Whilst, yes, it feels more convenient for something to be black or white. Either good or bad. Should or shouldn't be there. It actually encourages and forces us to become a little more expert and mastered in our own body.

That's because this really all depends on understanding the 'context'.

By reviewing the situation and case and asking a few questions we can identify the context of the set of results and findings against everything else we now is going on in the body and experience.

The influence of whether one of these opportunistic bacteria are causing challenges for someone will be related in part to:

- the level of colonisation
- biofilm presence
- presence of other pathogens
- inflammatory levels
- other functional markers (gut, immune etc)
- the health challenges (symptoms) experienced
- steps taken/not taken so far
- what has worked, what has not

Once you have this information, it's much clearer as to whether there is value in further strategies.

When working with the bigger picture and the whole person we've found this to be vital information to be aware of.

Jack

Discovery Calls are the best way for us to dive into any individual queries you have: https://functionalhealthclinic.co.uk/free-discovery-call/

The Full GI Map description: https://functionalhealthclinic.co.uk/digestive-health-test/